It’s been a big summer for film, coming off of the horror niche Fantasia International Film Festival and recent Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which saw the premiere of several films that will doubtless be talked about at Oscar time. The keystone premieres at TIFF were of course “Weird: The Al Yankovich Story” and the highly touted war epic “The Woman King.”
This of course only follows some highly anticipated premieres at the Venice Film Festival such as Olivia Wilde’s recently released “Don’t Worry Darling” and Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” starring Brendan Fraser in a comeback performance that garnered him a standing ovation from the crowd.
This fall is shaping up to be no different, as the 60th annual New York Film Festival is about to swing into gear, promotes by Film at Lincoln Center. It’s an exciting time to be in Manhattan, especially for the chance to check out several films that have been receiving buzz, as well as those unsung indie films that make for some of the best, under-sung cinema. Below we survey our ten most anticipated films of NYFF 2022, complete with descriptions, what to look for, and more.
Note: To look at the film schedule, see available tickets, and explore purchase options, visit NYFF at https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2022/. Follow The Movie Buff and explore our film festival coverage by on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using the hashtag #NYFF.
*picks by Kevin Parks
‘Master Gardener’ (dir. by Paul Schrader; premieres Oct. 1)
Paul Schrader has made a career out of his brooding “man in the room” films. And his latest, “Master Gardener,” stars Joel Edgerton as Narvel Roth, a skilled horticulturist tending to the estate of wealthy Mrs. Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). Narvel’s life is complicated when he begins to spend time with Mrs. Haverhill’s niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) and his troubled past resurfaces. Intended as the third film in the trilogy that started with his superb “First Reformed” (2017)—and followed up with the unconvincing “The Card Counter” (2021)—Schrader revisits themes he’s been infatuated with since he helped bring Travis Bickle into the world five decades ago.
‘Showing Up’ (dir. by Kelly Reichardt; premieres Oct. 5)
Following a detour to 19th-Century Oregon (“First Cow”), Reichardt returns to modern-day Oregon with her frequent star and collaborator Michelle Williams (“Certain Women”, “Wendy and Lucy”). Here, Williams plays Lizzy, a sculptor at a Portland artists’ enclave. She’s struggling to balance the combination of personal and professional demands that compound daily. Early reviews for the film are strong, elevating the justifiable hype that comes with any new Reichardt project.
‘One Fine Morning’ (dir. by Mia-Hansen-Løve; premieres Oct. 8)
For a film about death, “One Fine Morning” might seem like an ironic-wink of a title. But Hansen-Løve has earned our trust, crafting intimate, intricate films that deconstruct the most knotty family or romantic relationships. Lea Seydoux plays Sandra, a single mother who moves in with her father (Pascal Greggory) to help him deal with a crippling neurodegenerative disease. Similar to previous works (“Things to Come,” “Bergman Island”), Hansen-Løve draws on her own personal experiences to deliver a bold story that doesn’t sentimentalize life, death, love or art.
‘Triangle of Sadness’ (dir. by Ruben Östlund; premieres Oct. 1)
Östlund won his second Palme d’Or, joining an exclusive club of two-timers, with this satire set on the high seas. In his previous film (and Palme winner) “The Square” (2017), Östlund took aim at the art industry, and the culture of a fictional Stockholm museum. His Altmanesque approach yielded something timely without over-explaining its intentions. He also weaved in commentary on immigration and the vapidity of the uber-upper-class. This time, it’s the high-end fashion world in Östlund’s sights, promising another searing tale of class struggle and survival, and, apparently, a drawn-out vomiting sequence.
‘White Noise’ (dir. by Noah Baumbach; premieres Sept. 30)
The festival opener is an embarrassment of riches, teaming up three of the most exciting creative forces (Baumbach, Adam Driver, and Greta Gerwig) in cinema today. It uses Don DeLillo’s postmodern masterpiece (it won the 1985 ‘National Book Award’) as the source material. Driver and Gerwig are Jack and Babette, a married couple who prefer to debate who’s going to die first instead of how they plan to sustain an unhappy marriage in a world that’s literally decaying. It’s a different kind of marriage story with a special finale that ensures the audience will stick around for the end credits.
*picks by Hector Gonzalez
‘Alcarràs’ (dir. by Carla Simón; premieres Oct. 6)
Spanish filmmaker Carla Simón is becoming one of my favorite modern directors for two specific reasons. The first is her delicate and naturalistic filmmaking touch, which showcases the beauty in simplicity and clarity. The second reason is the panache in which Simón tells her very personal stories of past experiences in her hometown or places where she grew up. I was a big fan of her debut, “Summer 1993,” where Simón reflected on the past, specifically a period in her life that she holds dearly due to some heartbreaking events that transpired during those months bathed in the bright sunlight.
Her sophomore feature, “Alcarràs” (titled after the municipality in the comarca of the Segrià in Catalonia), may be even better. It won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, the ‘Golden Bear.’ Via vignette-esque structure, Carla Simón explores the importance of heritage and the erasure of identity through modernization’s cold-hearted reality. This is bound to be a beautiful, honest, and heartfelt picture.
‘Bones and All’ (dir. by Luca Guadagnino; premieres Oct. 6)
Luca Guadagnino is a brilliant filmmaker who rarely misses a beat in his feature, except for the only misfire in his career, “The Staggering Girl.” Over the past years, we have heard that Guadagnino would be involved in several remakes or adaptations of praised stories, such as “Lord of the Flies,” “Scarface,” an Audrey Hepburn biopic, and much more.
Unfortunately, there is no news about the possibility of those projects seeing the light of day. However, Guadagnino has more tales to tell. And one of them is the adaptation of Camille DeAngelis’ horrific novel, “Bones and All.” Described as the baby of his past projects, “Call Me By Your Name” and “Suspiria,” as well as adding dashes of Terrence Malick’s “Badlands, Bones, and All” seems right up my alley. Why? Not only am I a big fan of Guadagnino, but I have been reading great stuff about it. It seems equally romantic and horrifying, with scenes of young romance and gory innards. As a horror enthusiast and fanatic, since the announcement of this film, it has been one of my most anticipated features of the year. Let’s hope Guadagnino enthralls us via the horrors and beauty of the young cannibals’ lives at the center of “Bones and All.”
‘Enys Men’ (dir. by Mark Jenkin; premieres Oct. 8)
In the past, plenty of filmmakers have experimented with various forms of making movies. For example, one of the well-known manifestos, and filmmaking movements, is the one Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg wrote way back in the year 1995, Dogme 95. The purpose of that movement was to bring filmmaking back to its roots by avoiding the trappings of mainstream moviemaking. Another director with his own set of rules is Cornish director Mark Jenkin. He obeys the Silent Landscape Dancing Grain 13 film manifesto not only because of his techniques and aesthetics but for it to be a source of self-limitation.
Jenkin shocked audiences and cinephiles worldwide with his feature-length directorial debut in 2019, “Bait,” because of its filmmaking techniques. They eluded back to the ascendance of sound and the end of silent cinema. Now, three years later, Jenkin is back with his sophomore feature, “Enys Men”—a film that has been described as a hypnotic and silent descent into madness, which is having its U.S. premiere at this year’s New York Film Festival. So why am I excited about this film? Well, for starters, because I love horror movies. And if “Bait” felt like horror without actually being horror, I can’t imagine what Jenkin has in store for us. The second reason why I am highly anticipating this film is that I think Jenkin is a fascinating filmmaker with a unique vision. With his distinctive imagination he is way different than most directors in this day and age.
‘Exterior Night’ (dir. by Marco Bellocchio; premieres Oct. 5)
Since the early 1960s, Marco Bellocchio has delivered consistent work. And as the decades go by, the more he gets recognized by the greater public. His films of the 2000s (“Vincere,” “Good Morning,” “Night,” “My Mother’s Smile”) drove more people to anticipate his future work and seek out past ones.
Bellocchio might not be delivering critically acclaimed features each time around, but they sure are compelling pieces of works on their own merit, at the very least. Now, the Italian filmmaker is presenting a lengthy series based on the 1978 kidnapping and assassination of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by Red Brigades terrorists, titled “Exterior Night.” This may not be at the top of my most anticipated projects. Still, I’m interested to see how a filmmaker like Bellocchio manages such a long-winded canvas and medium after years of making films. The shift from cinematic ventures to TV has me intrigued to see how his vision changes due to the medium’s gifts and restrictions.
‘TÁR’ (dir. by Todd Field; premieres Oct. 3)
It has been sixteen years since Todd Fields directed a film. His last one was “Little Children” way back in 2006. However, it disappointed me compared to his feature directorial debut, “In the Bedroom” (2000), a melancholic and beautiful (although there are moments of hopelessness) depiction of grief, regrets, and revenge. Although I have warmed up a bit to “Little Children,” I’m still not sold on it. Sometimes, the events transpiring in it tend to be quite ridiculous.
Nevertheless, there’s posture and strength in Fields’ directorial hand. Now arrives his long-anticipated third feature, “TÁR.” From the brief synopsis, I was utterly enthralled and intrigued to watch it. And since my favorite actress of all time, Cate Blanchett (who won the Volpi Cup for ‘Best Actress’ at this year’s Venice Film Festival for her performance in the film), is at the center of “TÁR,” it quickly went up to being my most anticipated feature of 2022. From multiple standing ovations to rave reviews, “TÁR” is being proclaimed as one of the year’s best films— a unique vision of a director in complete control of his craft. This is one of the few films of 2022 that I’ve been dying to see, and now I’m getting the chance to do so at long last. Let’s hope it lives up to the hype and the declarations of being a “masterpiece.”
*List compiled and written by Kevin Parks and Hector Gonzalez, respectively. Introduction written by Mark Ziobro, Editor-in-Chief.
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